Samir Abdul Aziz al-Najim ( ar, سمير عبد العزيز النجم; born 1937 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

) is a former

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i politician, who held several senior positions under President

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

. He was the Minister for Oil from January to April 2003 and the President's chief of staff for several years after the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. He was the Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, Spain and Russia.

Biography

He was born in 1937 in Baghdad from a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

background. al-Najim was the regional command chairman for the

Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...

for East Baghdad. He was accused by US Army officers of helping Saddam Hussein plot assassination attemptsSenior Ba'ath Party Official Captured

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

, 2003-04-18, accessed on 2009-02-15 He was convicted in 1959 of the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim and was sentenced to death, although Qassim pardoned Najim. Following the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and allied forces in 2003, he was depicted as the ''four of clubs'' in their deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. His assets were frozen under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 as a "senior official" and transferred to the Development Fund for Iraq.LIST ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 1483 (2003)

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, accessed on 2009-02-15 He was captured by Kurdish peshmerga near

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

in April 2003.Samir Abd al-Aziz al-Najim
'' Global Security'', accessed on 2009-02-15 He was held at a prison located in

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya ( ar, ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, al-Kāẓimiyyah, ) or Kadhimayn (, ) is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of on ...

Region. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a confiscation all possessed property and funds on October 26, 2016. He was released from prison in April 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Najim, Samir Abdul Aziz Living people Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region politicians Ambassadors of Iraq to Egypt Ambassadors of Iraq to Turkey Ambassadors of Iraq to Russia Ambassadors of Iraq to Spain Government ministers of Iraq 1930s births Politicians from Baghdad Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards Iraq War prisoners of war Iraqi prisoners of war